In the old days every Japanese home had a shichirin, a portable cooking stove that burned charcoal as fuel. Yoshida Akira, a potter living in Tokyo, had the idea of using a shichirin to fire pottery, and began promoting it six years ago.

"I wanted to develop a simple way for anyone to fire their own work, because if people have a hands-on experience with pottery they'll find it interesting and might develop a new talent."

Making pottery involves forming the clay, drying it, firing it, glazing it and firing it again, and this is ordinarily a one- to two-week commitment. Yoshida's method takes far less time—he dries the clay in 30 minutes with a hair dryer, and then fires it one time for an hour and once again for another 30 minutes.

"The advantage of this method is that you can make pottery and begin using it the same day. So if you make a saké cup every day, you can drink from a different cup every night!"

Mugs that need no handles, rice bowls, plates and vases are just some of the things small enough to be fired in a shichirin kiln. Yoshida's idea is catching on as an easy way for novices to learn the art of pottery. Some stores now sell shichirin pottery kits that come with clay, the kiln, charcoal and other items.